Jason Whitlock Explains Why Angel Reese’s Caitlin Clark Rivalry Hampers Her Career

Angel Reese is finding out the hard way that being the villain while Caitlin Clark ascends is a costly bargain to make.

Jason Whitlock Explains Why Angel Reese’s Caitlin Clark Rivalry Hampers Her Career

Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese (Image by FirstSportz)

It cannot be easy being someone always viewed in a negative light by the general public. Angel Reese is finding that out the hard way after her recent struggles on the basketball court. While she had an organic following of millions before her tryst with Caitlin Clark, her profile took off after she taunted the Iowa legend in the national championship final in 2023. It also brought a Pandora’s Box of negativity to her phone.

Since the incident at the 2023 Final, her story has inextricably been linked to Caitlin Clark. Everything she does is viewed through the lens of her rivalry with the Fever star. There is a racist horde of people who boo every move of hers, and there is always some negativity with her activity whenever she pops up online. She is a large vessel of hate for closeted and veiled racists online, and the volume makes it inescapable.

Jason Whitlock spoke about how Angel Reese should consider an image makeover to preserve her own sanity. He pointed to her subpar basketball skills, suggesting she should focus on them. He also explained why she will keep riling people up irrespective of her intent if she continues to build an identity associated to being a rival of Caitlin Clark:

Angel Reese is a laughing stock. She didn’t have to be a laughing stock. She’s chosen a fight with Caitlin Clark, Indiana Fever fans, and it’s just like she’s become a meme. And yes, she’s wealthy, she’s making seven figures because she’s become this infamous person, but her lack of skill on the basketball court – gets four points in a game against the Indiana Fever, they got beat by 30 by the Indiana Fever. Caitlin Clark didn’t even play.

Whitlock continued in this vein while laying down how the public views her play:

She is going to remain a laughing stock and a joke. And she doesn’t have to be. I would raise the white flag as it relates to Caitlin Clark. I would try to become her BFF or friendly rival and show some respect and affinity towards Caitlin Clark as long as she goes down this path and people are comparing her to Caitlin Clark, they’re going to laugh at her comical basketball skills. Angel Reese has made a horrendous mistake as it relates to her reputation.

Angel Reese is currently in basketball purgatory

Unfortunately for Angel Reese, she has landed in a basketball situation that is very hard to overcome. The Chicago Sky have very little guard talent and not enough talent on the wing either. Their two frontcourt starters, Reese and Kamilla Cardoso, both have limited range and don’t have a consistent jump shot. This creates a spacing problem for the Sky on top of their other limitations.

The team is currently at the basement of the Eastern Conference and will find it incredibly hard to come up the standings. On top of this, they also don’t have their own draft pick to use at next year’s draft. All things considered, this is a very messy situation which the Sky front office doesn’t seem to have a coherent plan to get out of.

The team will now depend on Hailey van Lith to rise to the occasion and earn consistent WNBA minutes. While van Lith had a resurgence at TCU in her fifth year, she still has some improvements to make to become a positive contributor at the WNBA level. With Courtney Vandersloot out due to an ACL tear, she will get the opportunity to get reps and improve her play.

Also Read: